Hound of ill-omen
Medium Outsider (Extraplanar, Incorporeal) Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (13 hp) Initiative: +2 Speed: 60 ft. Armor Class: 18 (+2 Dex, +4 natural, +2 deflection), touch 14, flat-footed 16 Base Attack/Grapple: +2/— Attack: — Full Attack: — Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Howling curse Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/magic, darkvision 60 ft., focused existence, incorporeal traits, natural invisibility Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +4 Abilities: Str — , Dex 15, Con 15, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 14 Skills: Knowledge (religion) +1, Listen +8, Spot +8, Survival +6 (+14 tracking) Feats: Alertness Environment: Any Organization: Solitary Challenge Rating: 6 Advancement: — Level Adjustment: — You hear a long, sorrowfull howl that fills you with dread. One of your companions screams and points toward the top of a small mound, but you see nothing there. The hound of ill-omen is one of the many beasts that the Powers use to punish mortals who have offended them in some way. Its appearance normally portends the death of the viewer, although there have been a few mortals who claimed to have survived such an encounter with their deity’s agent of doom. Some sages believe that the hound is not an actual creature but rather a manifestation of the will of the deity. There is, unfortunately, small chance of putting the matter to a test. A hound of ill-omen never appears to punish a mortal for a minor transgression against a Power. Its appearance indicates a major transgression on the part of the subject creature that needs to be addressed by the direct involvement of the deity's servants. Hounds of ill-omen do not speak. COMBAT A hound of ill-omen does not attack its chosen individual directly. Instead, it simply appears within a ghostly haze before the individual and uses its howling curse once. Regardless of whether the target creature is affected or not, the hound turns away and slowly pads off, possibly returning once the curse has been dealt with to repeat the attack. If a hound of ill-omen is slain, it reforms on its deity’s home plane in 1d4 days. It is rarely assigned to the same task again - the power usually sends a more powerful servant instead (a celestial, fiend, or inevitable of CR equal to the target's level +4) Focused Existence (Ex): A hound of ill-omen is closely connected to the intended target of its deity's vengeance. This target creature ignores the hound's incorporeal traits entirely, including the miss chance, deflection AC bonuses, and silent movement. Also, the hound's natural invisibility has no effect on the target creature. All creatures that manage to harm the hound of ill-omen (whether using see invisibility and attacking physically, or by blindly directing area effect spells) become included in the hound's focus - they share the fate of the original intended target, becoming vulnerable to its howling curse and able to see and affect the hound normally. Howling Curse (Su): Once per day, a hound of ill-omen can deliver the vengeful curse of its divine power through a howl. All creatures within 120 feet can hear the howling, and those who can both see and hear the hound (usually only the intended individual; see Focused Existence above) are subject to its terrible effects. If a creature fails a DC 19 Will saving throw, it falls under a curse that causes the next 1d10 wounds suffered to cause four times their normal damage. Until all 1d10 wounds have been inflicted, no healing magic of any kind functions for the affected creature (but natural healing still works). Intentionally inflicting wounds to quickly "burn out" the curse does not work. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes a +6 racial bonus. The howling curse is difficult to remove: a break enchantment or remove curse spell reduces the number of wounds by one, and a limited wish, wish, or miracle can remove the curse entirely, but there is a 50% chance that even such powerful magic will fail. Incorporeal Traits: Cannot be harmed by nonmagical weapons, and has a 50% chance to ignore any damage from any corporeal source (including magical weapons), except for force effects or attacks made with ghost touch weapons. Can pass through solid objects, but not force effects, at will. Its natural attacks ignore natural armor, armor, and shields, but deflection bonuses and force effects work normally against them. Always moves silently and cannot be heard with Listen checks if it doesn't wish to be. Natural Invisibility (Su): This ability is constant, allowing a hound of ill-omen to remain constantly invisible. This ability is inherent and not subject to the invisibility purge spell. However, the hound's target creature (see Focused Existence above) ignores its natural invisibility and can see the hound normally. Skills: A hound of ill-omen has a +8 racial bonus on Survival checks made to track a creature. Category:Outsiders